The Thorn Experience: a partnership based on trust and innovation
With a history dating back over 85 years, Thorn has earned a reputation of innovation and expertise. Along the way they have developed ongoing partnerships, some spanning more than 50 years, with local authorities and municipalities in many of the 100 countries that they operate in. These have become known as the Thorn Experience. Durham County Council offers just one example of this in action.
"Thorn Lighting has been a road lighting partner to Durham County Council since the 1960s. We have found a long-term procurement approach with Thorn to be very beneficial, delivering benefits of continuous product and service improvements." Darren Hubbard, Senior Street Lighting Engineer, Durham County Council.
With a population of more than 500 000, Durham County Council is one of the largest local authorities in England. It is one of many local authorities in the UK and Ireland that have worked with Thorn for over 50 years.
Working together to reduce energy consumption by 40%
Today one of the council's biggest energy costs comes from its 86 000 streetlights and illuminated traffic signs throughout the county. In line with the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRCEE) and the Climate Change Act, the council has been working to achieve a reduction of 40% in its total energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 2016.
An important part of the initiative is the upgrade from conventional technology to LED. As part of a major ongoing programme to replace all of the council's inefficient lanterns, Thorn started to supply and recommend more efficient products as technology improved. To date Durham County Council have installed more than 14 000 LED road lanterns. Oracle S was installed in 2010 as it provided the most efficient solution at the time, over 8 000 of the fittings were installed. More recently, in 2013, Thorn won a contract based on the price, photometric performance and efficiency of its Isaro LED and R2L2 LED lanterns. They are now working on supplying and installing these lanterns over a 6-year period. So far over 6 000 of these luminaires have been installed.
Samantha Berry, Key Account Manager, explains: "At Thorn we are committed to research and development, ensuring continuous product improvements. By installing the most efficient LED modules as soon as they become available, Durham County Council benefits from improved performance and energy savings. Crucially, the move to LED lighting and reduction in lighting classes has provided them with an annual energy saving in excess of 50%. Our ability to manufacture and supply a quality product in line with Durham County Council's demanding delivery schedule has been key to the success of this programme to date."
Darren concludes, "By building on our previous experiences and project successes we can always expect and enjoy more from Thorn. We benefit from faster installation processes and lower energy consumption plus greater service efficiency. Going forward, I expect the products and services provided by Thorn to continue to improve, offering even better quality and performance while still providing excellent value for money".
For the complete Durham County Council case study please click here.
You can download our Road Lighting Brochure here.